


Dressed Up in Stardust and Tinsel: A Jupiter Jones Christmas

by aeolians



Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Tree, F/M, First Christmas, Gen, JA Secret Santa, JA Secret Santa 2017, THERE'S JUST A LOT OF CHRISTMAS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-19 02:58:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13114536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeolians/pseuds/aeolians
Summary: On their first Christmas Eve as a couple, Jupiter is determined to show Kiza the best Christmas traditions she knows. It's only fair since neither Kiza nor Caine have ever celebrated the holidays.It's bound to be a Christmas to remember when the Queen of the Earth celebrates Christmas with her space werewolf angel boyfriend and someone who is essentially his half-bee sister, right?





	Dressed Up in Stardust and Tinsel: A Jupiter Jones Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [iluvdanimal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/iluvdanimal/gifts).



“Jupiter. Hey, Jupiter. Wake up, Your Majesty."

Blinking, Jupiter looked around. Her and Caine’s rented car was zipping past empty fields that, come summer, would be full of corn. The winter sun glared brightly even as clouds sat low on the horizon. Maybe they’d have a white Christmas, after all.

“We’re just about there,” Caine said, turning onto the long dirt drive that led to Stinger’s farmhouse.

“Hm?” Jupiter muttered, rubbing at her eyes. “Oh, sorry. I dozed off. Stayed up late working on stuff for today."

“The boxes you made me carry out to the trunk made that pretty obvious,” Caine replied with a cheeky smile, which made Jupiter roll her eyes.

“Listen, Stinger’s off-planet and Kiza’s never had a proper Christmas. Or . . . _any_ Christmas, really. How has she spent so many years on Earth and never celebrated the holidays in some way?"

“It isn't exactly in Stinger’s nature to partake in celebrations. Or interacting with your culture. Or leaving his farm when he was posted as marshall to this planet. Or—"

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. But still, she’s been here for so many years and she’s never gotten to experience Christmas. The food! The eggnog! The carols and the gifts!” Jupiter paused a moment. “I mean, I get that I don’t exactly have the most extravagant of holidays with my family, but it’s still _something_. Kiza at least deserves a taste of the biggest holiday on Earth."

As Caine parked the car at the end of the drive, Jupiter unbuckled and exited the car, zipping up her coat before heading back to the trunk of the car. A moment later, Caine popped the trunk and joined her to grab some boxes.

“Why are we doing this here, anyway? Didn’t your family want to celebrate with you? We could have always brought Kiza to that to celebrate with more people."

“Yes, and my mom and aunt in particular wanted you there. Mostly so they could grill you. But after the Thanksgiving fiasco, did you _really_ want to go and join my whole family for another holiday? Really?"

“Fair point,” Caine grimaced, grabbing one of the cardboard boxes in the trunk and lugging it out to following Jupiter towards the porch. He remembered all too well how _that_ holiday had gone. And even though Jupiter’s family was beginning to warily accept Jupiter’s definitely-not-human boyfriend, introducing yet another splice just a month later would have been too much.

“Oh, come on,” Jupiter said, noting the look on her boyfriend’s face. “You fought those giant dragon guys—"

“Sargons,” Caine interjected.

“—and you barely blinked an eye,” Jupiter continued, completely unfettered. "Facing my family can’t be as bad as that."

“You sure about that?"

Taking in Caine’s look of disbelief, Jupiter shrugged. “Yeah, okay, maybe you’re right."

Chuckling, Caine stepped closer. “Believe me, I’m much happier being out of that city and here with you."

“Oh yeah?” Jupiter quirked an eyebrow, looking up at her boyfriend with a smirk. “Well, I’m glad I managed to convince my family to let me come out here for two days, then. Just think of how much time we’ll have . . . all alone . . . with no one to interrupt us."

Just then, the front door swung open abruptly, Kiza standing there looking at both of them accusingly.

“I do live here, y’know,” Kiza said, trying to sound stern but the smile tugging at the corner of her mouth belied her amusement. “Caine may be staying in the spare room, but I’m very much here."

“Kiza!” Jupiter said, embarrassedly stepping away from Caine. "Right. We were just . . . uhm. Yeah.” A moment passed where Kiza looked amusedly over to Caine, who smiled and shook his head. “Uh, merry Christmas! Can we . . . ?"

“Yeah, c’mon in,” Kiza said as she stepped to the side. “I have some iced tea in the kitchen. Want some?"

Jupiter bent over, depositing her box in the front hall. “Yeah, let us just get the rest of the boxes out of the car—"

“Pfft, let Caine get them. Let him put his muscles to use.” Dragging Jupiter to the kitchen, Kiza called back over her shoulder, “We’ll save you a glass if you don’t take too long!"

“I like the way you think, Kiza,” Jupiter said with a laugh as she allowed herself to be dragged away.

Caine watched the two women disappear and shook his head. They’d end up being a dangerous combination this holiday, he was sure of it.

———————

A few hours later, Caine and Jupiter were cuddled together on the couch as they watched Kiza walk around the Christmas tree. It wasn’t a grand affair, but it was a real tree. Jupiter had only ever had small artificial trees, so even this was a first for her. When she had first suggested buying an artificial tree to Caine, he lost no time in pointing out how much Kiza, a half-bee splice herself, would appreciate the real thing.

That’s how they ended up with a modest but freshly cut pine tree in front of the living room window. For a moment, Jupiter had considered telling Kiza to stay away until the tree was decorated so she could surprise her with the final result. But all thoughts of doing that were gone the moment Kiza had picked up a glittering ornament like it was a precious jewel. Half the fun of having a tree is decorating it, and who was Jupiter to deny Kiza that right?

Well, technically she had every right as Queen of the Earth, but no way was Jupiter about to pull that card just to surprise Kiza. No, she’d much rather have Kiza join in the fun and make her first Christmas memories as they decorated the tree.

“What d’you think, Kiza?"

Kiza turned to Jupiter, the smile on her face speaking for itself. “It’s . . . it’s beautiful, Your Majesty."

Jupiter waved her hand at the use of her title. “I told you before, you don’t have to call me that. It’s Jupiter."

“I know that,” the slightly younger girl said, moving to sit on the edge of the coffee table near Jupiter. “It’s just . . .” Kiza drifted off, turning to look at the tree before she continued. “No one’s ever done anything like that for me. Dad’s always done what he can and he provides for me, sure, but ‘extravagant’ isn’t exactly in his vocabulary."

Turning back, Kiza looked Jupiter straight in the eye. “Your Majesty has been so kind to me and my dad. You’re Queen of the Earth, but you’re here with me instead of with your own family. Just for my benefit. No one’s ever done somethin’ like that for me. And you already repaired the house damage and paid for my ReCell, but to do this, too? No one’s ever done that much for me."

Leaning forward, Jupiter grabbed Kiza’s hands in her own. “Well, yeah, you’re like Caine’s sister.” Next to her, Jupiter felt Caine shift at that but he didn’t contradict her. She wasn’t wrong.

“Kiza, to some people I may not be in a lucky situation, that my life sucks. I’ve had to work my whole life doing a gross job. I clean toilets, for Christ’s sake. I sleep in a room with my mom and my aunt and I have next to nothing I can really call my own. I live with a huge family. My cousin Vinnie can be a huge pain to live with sometimes, sure, but he’s still family. We take care of family.

"I’m healthy, and I’m lucky to be here with my mom and aunt at all. If I own the whole planet I call home, then the least I can do is give you your first Christmas and make it a memorable one. You’re like Caine’s sister, and you’re my friend. You’re practically family to both of us, so the least I can do is introduce you to eggnog and Bing Crosby’s Christmas hits."

Kiza smiled, looking down at where their hands were clasped and not daring to look up at Jupiter in case the tears welling up in her eyes started to fall.

“Thank you, Your Majesty. Jupiter."

“Don’t mention it,” Jupiter replied softly, giving Kiza a moment before standing up.

“Now, it’s time for gifts."

“I thought you said gifts are given Christmas morning,” Caine said, confused.

“Yes, but some families will have each person open one gift on Christmas Eve,” Jupiter replied, fetching one small gift from her jacket pocket and another from a bag in the hall. “We never do it in my family because there isn’t usually much under the tree for Christmas morning anyway, but since this is both of your first Christmases, I thought you two should each get a gift."

Both Kiza and Caine started to protest when Jupiter held up a hand to silence them. “Okay, this is one of the few times I’m going to invoke my right as Queen of Earth. You two are both opening gifts tonight and I won’t take no for an answer."

“Do you ever?"

Jupiter smacked Caine on the shoulder for the quip before handing the first package to Kiza.

“You really didn’t have to get me anything."

“Open it! And don’t worry about the wrapping paper. Half the fun of opening gifts is tearing it off."

Grinning, Kiza began to rip at the brightly colored wrapping paper to revel a small bright red jewelry box. Opening it, Kiza gasped as she looked at the delicate gold-plated honeycomb pendant hanging from a gold chain.

“Oh, Jupe! It’s so perfect, I love it!"

“I thought you might,” Jupiter replied, smiling at how happy Kiza looked as she tried the necklace on. “It suits you."

“Thanks, Jupiter. I can’t wait to show Dad when he comes back."

“Jewelry isn’t his thing,” Caine piped in, “But I’m sure even he’d appreciate how well it suits you."

“Your turn,” Jupiter said, thrusting the larger gift into Caine’s hands.

“You know you didn’t have to gift me anything, Jupiter."

Rolling her eyes, Jupiter groaned jokingly. “Are _both_ of you going to say that with every gift? If so, tomorrow morning is going to take _forever_."

Caine smiled and began to rip his wrapping paper off to revel a cardboard box. Opening it and peering inside, Caine froze.

“Well? Don’t leave us hanging, Caine. What is it?"

Caine looked at Kiza, then turned to Jupiter before looking back down into the box.

“It’s me."

Reaching into the box, Caine carefully pulled out a doll that Jupiter had very obviously modified herself. Black wings made of feathers glued to a foam base were attached to the doll’s back, and gold paint accented the wings more-or-less in the same spots where gold accented Caine’s own wings. A ribbon was also glued between the two wings, and the ends hung loose. The doll wore black pants and a black sleeveless shirt, and short, blond hair was accompanied by a yellow goatee that Jupiter had very obviously painted onto the chin herself. She had even attempted to paint the tattoo on his right arm with a silver Sharpie, although that looked little more than a silver smudge.

Perhaps the best part, though, was the fact that the doll version of Caine was holding a doll version of Jupiter in his arms. The doll had dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, a blue and white buttoned shirt and jeans. No mistaking it, this was the same outfit Jupiter wore when she and Caine began their adventure together. The same outfit he had dressed her in.

“I know it’s crude and I’m not an artist, but—"

“It’s perfect,” Caine said softly, looking at Jupiter earnestly.

Smiling, Jupiter looked down at the doll. “It’s for the top of the tree. It’s common to put a star or the figure of an angel on top of a Christmas tree. A star felt too obvious, because . . . y’know. Space. We’ve been there. It felt weird putting up a light-up five-pointed star after seeing the real ones."

“So you went the angel route!” Kiza said with a laugh. “That’s brilliant."

Jupiter smiled and watched as Caine stood and crossed to the tree. Reaching up, he placed the doll versions of them at the top of the tree and used the ribbon at the back to tie them on. After a moment of adjusting it, he stepped back and admired how it looked. The sun was beginning to set, and the lights in the tree were beginning to let off a warm, colored glow amongst the branches.

Standing to join him, Jupiter rested her head against his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her.

“It’s perfect,” he said again. This time, Jupiter knew he meant more than just the gift. This Christmas Eve had turned out perfectly so far; so much better than Jupiter could have hoped.

Wrapping her arms around Caine’s waist, she didn’t see Caine look over at Kiza meaningfully.

“I’ll just go to the kitchen and grab some of that eggnog you brought,” she said, getting up from her spot on the coffee table. “I’ll be a few minutes, don’t open any more gifts without me!” Sending a wink in Caine’s direction, Kiza walked out of the room to leave the other two alone.

A few moments later, Caine broke the the silence.

“I have a gift for you, too, you know."

Turning, Jupiter looked at Caine with genuine surprise. “I don’t need a gift."

“I know. And you don’t have to feel like you have to accept this one. But I’d like to give you the chance to accept it, if you want to."

“Oooookay, now I’m curious."

Stepping away from Jupiter for a moment, Caine reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet bag. Opening it, Caine paused and looked at Jupiter in an unsure manner.

“I’m, uh, not completely sure how you do this on Earth,” he admitted. “But I think you’re supposed to go down on one knee."

Suddenly, it hit Jupiter what was happening.

“Holy crap. Caine—"

Going down on one knee, Caine fished a small object out of the bag. A ring.

“Holy _shit_ , Caine Wise, I can’t believe—"

“Jupiter Jones,” he cut in, looking determinedly at the ring. “Your Majesty. You have shown more courage and strength than any skyjacker I’ve ever known. More than that, you’re determined, and you care for people more than anyone in the galaxies. All people—human and splice alike. You stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. You protect those you love and those who need it.” Looking up, he continued. “You are my pack. I hope you will let me be yours."

Gaping in shock, Jupiter couldn’t hold back the tears that fell from her eyes. “I—yes. Yes!"

Grinning, Caine leapt up and embraced Jupiter, swinging her around as she laughed before setting her back down. Backing away, he took her left hand and slipped the ring on. Jupiter couldn’t help but admire it; it was a shining silver band set with a simple round stone of blue and green. The more she looked at the stone, though, the more it seemed like the stone’s colors were moving under the surface, consistently shifting like the reflection of water.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, turning to her new fiancé. Leaning in, Caine and Jupiter kissed and didn’t even notice Kiza come back in the room with three glasses of eggnog.

“I guess she said yes, huh?"

Breaking apart, Jupiter couldn’t even bother to be embarrassed by being caught in the middle of making out.

“Finally,” Kiza said, setting down the glasses and turning to the couple. “Just as long as this doesn’t mean that Caine’ll be King of the Earth. I don’t think Dad or I could tolerate that."

Laughing, the three of them each picked up a glass of eggnog, cheering their happiness and truly enjoying their first Christmas as a multi-species intergalactic royal family.

**Author's Note:**

> The title comes from the Andrews Sisters song [The Christmas Tree Angel](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRpz41GhXj0) and while the song itself doesn't fit the fic, the title of the song and the line pulled for this fic's title certainly do!
> 
> I'm actually rather happy with this fic. I normally only write the Abrasax siblings because they're more interesting to me, so to have this challenge was a lot of fun! I'm very pleased with the result. Merry Christmas to my Secret Santa giftee, [Jhthompson](http://jhthompsonwrites.tumblr.com)!


End file.
